April 3, 2003

Test Spin: Baptist Generals

I thought I liked The Baptist Generals’ new album, No Silver/No Gold, until I realized that I hated it. Hated, hated, hated it. The second album from the Denton, Texas band is an exercise in musical con artistry; its basic guitar progressions and dashed-off lyrics are a gob of spit in the face of every earnest indie kid who buys whatever Pitchfork proclaims to be good, like so many ironically-clothed sheep. I cannot imagine anyone listening to this album for pleasure. Singer Chris Flemmons’ voice is a cross between Neil Young and the Emergency Broadcast System; he whines for 45 minutes about alcohol and despair like a mental patient at a musical therapy class. Flemmons is going for a lo-fi Mountain Goats/Neutral Milk Hotel vibe — but he forgot to include the things that make those bands’ albums good, such as musical competence and lyrical maturity. It’s a hard album to listen to — not challenging hard, but physically hard, as in the brick wall that I wanted to slam my head into after I finished this album. Indie cred is well and good, but this emperor has no clothes and this album has no musically redeeming value. Buy it if you need a soundtrack to commit suicide to, but you’ll get more enjoyment out of setting the twenty-dollar bill on fire and watching it burn, I guarantee it.

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Joan Bokaer, a nuclear disarmament activist, organizer of A Global Walk for a Livable World in 1990 and co-organizer of the International EcoCity Conference in 1996, gave a lecture and slide presentation yesterday entitled “Bush, Congress and the Dominion Mandate.” Bokaer spoke to approximately 50 people in the Founders Room of Anabel Taylor Hall. The talk was part of the new Theocracy Watch project of the Center for Religion, Ethics and Social Policy at Cornell. Bokaer discussed the rise of what she calls the “Religious Right” in the Republican Party and also what she sees as the consequent push for the reunification of church and state. “We should be as attentive to Washington as we are to the war on Iraq, for there is a second war taking place in this country — the war on secular society,” she said. She presented a number of statements from Republican senators and representatives as evidence for her argument. Bokaer quoted Republican strategist Paul Weyrich, for example, as saying in 1980, “We are talking about Christianizing America.” She also cited statements from Republican platforms, including the following from 2002: “The Republican Party of Texas reaffirms the United States of America is a Christian nation.” Bokaer also drew evidence from America’s Providential History, a popular textbook in Christian high schools. She explained how many of the connections of church and state that the Republican Party makes can find their background in the teachings of that book. Bokaer quoted from the textbook: “How are tax cuts part of the Dominion mandate? … The income tax is idolatry, the property tax is theft and inheritance taxes are not allowed in the Bible.” She also said that the book clarifies the Religious Right’s environmentalist stance when it says, “The Christian knows that the potential in God is unlimited and that there is no shortage of resources on God’s Earth.” Bokaer spoke on faith-based initiatives and school vouchers as further evidence for the rise of the so-called Religious Right. She said that the Senate wanted to extend the funds of the faith-based initiative to all religions, but the Religious Right struck it down, saying that they could not give money to Hinduism because it is not a monotheistic religion. She also added that school vouchers “now make it possible for government to fund religious schools.” Bokaer presented ways in which she hopes to challenge the increasing power of the Religious Right, saying that it “attributes its success to voter apathy.” “The majority of this country does not want the Religious Right agenda. … Our challenge is to … inform the voting public,” she said. Bokaer ended by citing several signs indicating that changes may be ahead. One such example was the Senate’s failure to end the filibuster on Bush’s judicial nominee. According to Bokaer, this was the “first time one party has stood united against Bush” and is “also an example of what happens with good grassroots organizing.” Bokaer cited the Senate vote to slash Bush’s tax cut plan as a second example of positive changes. “The majority of people in this country favor a pluralistic country that’s open to diversity,” she said. “We’re not powerless. … We have seen in this talk what a minority can do if they are organized and committed.” “I thought she answered [the questions] well,” said Cheryl Horton ’06. One audience member asked Bokaer to elaborate on how the Religious Right woos Jewish voters through support of Israel. Bokaer responded that at a Christian Coalition rally, the attendees were waving both American and Israeli flags, appearing to be pro-Israel. However, she explained that her belief is that the Religious Right is “pro-Israel expansion” which is “really different from being pro-Israel because settlements are hurting Israel.” “I thought it went really well. … I think it’s a movement that will definitely gain momentum,” said Joanna Souers ’05, president of the Activist Knitting Circle, which co-sponsored the event. “I really enjoyed the presentation. … It brought up a lot of points about the Religious Right and their involvement in politics and the environment,” added Stephanie Juice ’04. Archived article by Amy Green

In an unusually poorly attended Student Assembly (S.A.) meeting last night, members passed resolutions regarding the Cornell men’s hockey team’s recent victories, the contract college funding crisis and Slope Day. The S.A. officially congratulated “the entire men’s hockey team for their successes [and wished the team] luck in the upcoming Frozen Four tournament” yesterday. In a related resolution, the S.A. called on the athletic department to provide transportation to major sporting events, specifically to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y. Last year the S.A. passed a similar resolution, but the athletic department “wasn’t especially willing to work with us,” said Josh Roth ’03, College of Arts and Sciences representative. “The athletic department is the most difficult and obstinate department to work with. … We give them $100,000 and it’s not clear what we get in return,” he continued. In response to the approximately $26 million of support Cornell stands to lose from the New York State Assembly, the S.A. expressed “its ardent support of the University’s lobbying efforts to secure the monies typically granted to Cornell.” The resolution further encouraged students to “voice their support” in obtaining this funding by contacting their New York State representatives. Although State University of New York (SUNY) schools will lose funding due to budget cuts this year as well, they will be able to make up the difference with an approximately $1,200 in tuition increases, according to Undesignated Representative Jackie Koppell ’05. “The other universities can make up the difference by raising tuition; Cornell can’t” because of the large sum the University has the potential to lose, Koppell said. Even if contract colleges increase tuition by the same amount as the SUNY schools, it would only cover a fraction of the loss. While the University has been waging a lobbying campaign to recover the funding, the State Assembly has not heard much from constituents on the issue. “The constituents need to speak. … The Assembly has only heard from the top,” Koppell said. Though some members felt the issue had already been addressed in a previous resolution, the new one passed. “We have to figure out what we can do as students to help resolve this problem,” said New Student Representative Tim Lim ’06 in support of the resolution. The S.A. continued its debate on Slope Day as well, passing a resolution that essentially supported the plans made by the Slope Day Steering Committee but protested the commercial regulation of alcohol on the Slope. Though the resolution passed, the issue still finds S.A. members divided. Several members thought the resolution compromised with the administration too much, especially since it resolved to “continue with the Slope Day Steering Committee’s fencing of the Slope” in order to check identification. “[Students] are tired of the administration forcing demands down [their] throats. … The administration is slowly phasing out Slope Day,” Lim said, after expressing his view that the S.A. should take a firmer stand against the catering of the event. Members also took up the opposing view as well. “The University has made it clear that they want to preserve Slope Day and that they are concerned for student safety,” said Ari Epstein ’04, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences representative. “They’re trying to change student mentality about Slope Day” from a celebration with a focus on alcohol to alcohol playing a small role for people over the legal age, Roth added. Some Cornell students think the S.A. is spending too much time debating this issue. “I don’t think the S.A. realizes there are other things going on. … The safest Slope Day is no Slope Day and the safest Cornellian is a sober one,” said audience member Elliott Reed ’05, vice chair of the College Republicans. Archived article by Elizabeth Donald